Lawyer questions directorial expertise at Crafar appeal

The lawyer for the Crafar Farm Purchase Group, which includes iwi interests, has told the Court of Appeal that the directors of the Chinese company which has Government approval to buy 16 North Island dairy farms, lack the necessary business experience.

The group is challenging Shanghai Pengxin's purchase of the Crafar farms, in a deal worth more than $200 million.

Its lawyer, Alan Galbraith QC, says the law requires that individual directors of the company need to have relevant experience.

He says there is little detail in Shanghai Pengxin's application to the Overseas Investment Office about its track record in farming.

Mr Galbraith says the OIO failed to establish that Shanghai Pengxin's directors have the required background.